IOWA CITY, Iowa — In a victory for prosecutors, a judge ruled Monday that they can use key evidence against the man charged with killing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts.
Judge Joel Yates agreed with prosecutors that some statements made by the suspect, Cristhian Bahena Rivera, must be suppressed because they came during an interrogation after he was not fully read his legal rights.
But Yates ruled that prosecutors can still use the information provided by Rivera that led them to the body of Tibbetts, who disappeared in July 2018 while out for a run in the small town of Brooklyn, Iowa.
Yates also ruled that Rivera gave consent to search his vehicle, so prosecutors can use blood evidence discovered in the trunk of a car that allegedly contained Tibbetts’ DNA.
Rivera, a 25-year-old dairy farm employee who was allegedly in the country illegally, is scheduled to stand trial in February. He faces life in prison.
Investigators found the body of Tibbetts in a cornfield outside of Brooklyn after Rivera allegedly led them to the body.
Yates ruled that Rivera was not read his rights when he was taken into custody hours earlier but that the evidence gathered from his statements could be used because they were voluntary.
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